I've only met my surgeon once for 5 minutes... normal?

[birdmadgirl 154]

that was about 8 months ago. I am getting sleeved on sept 23rd. I have a pre op appt on sept 9th.

I have no idea what kind of diet I am supposed to do, questions about being a smoker, weight I need to lose... nothing..

is this normal????

[Arts137 1,811]

Kinda. I met him at the start, & he passed me off to a group that did the counseling and prep stuff. Then met him a couple weeks before surgery to get the instructions. Just smile and press on!

[SuzyB 182]

I had a 1hr meeting with him. And then I did my NUT, Psych eval with others and I go back on the 10th for a preop with him.

I know he does not do a pre op diet. One thing from what you said is call about smoking. I know my office will do a nicotine test prior and if you fail, you do not get surgery. Other offices have other practices so it would be good to know if you need to completely quit or cut back.

[Mel1071 149]

Really? My initial consult with my surgeon was about an hour. During this time he answered any question I could throw at him. Plus he gave me a "Sleeve Owner's Manual" which outlines everything from pre-op stuff, to what to expect at the hospital, and post-op care.

[birdmadgirl 154]

my pre op appt on the 9th they said would take abotut 5 hours so I am assuming that I will know much more about everything. I should call about the smoking thing though... Ill do that now.

[thebean 12]

my pre op appt on the 9th they said would take abotut 5 hours so I am assuming that I will know much more about everything. I should call about the smoking thing though... Ill do that now.

My surgeon mentioned that if I were a smoker he would not recommend the sleeve. I guess you could be more probe to a leak.

[CharmingTortoise 83]

I met with the surgeon twice before surgery. They were not lengthy by any means. Most of the diet and pre-op stuff was handled by the physician's assistant, dietitian and other staff. In the practice that I use the PA is the surgeon's assistant during the surgery as well. So she was pretty "up" on what was necessary.

[vsginkc 117]

I only met with my surgeon one time before surgery and it lasted 5-10 minutes. He was an hour late. I gave him crap about it and he responded, "You won't have to see me much. You just need to decide whether I have the credentials to do your surgery and, if so, am I the guy you want." He was right. He came highly recommended and I went with him.

On smoking, I was told a minimum of 2 weeks. I quit at exactly 2 weeks, cold turkey. It was easy!

Good luck!

Angela

[Macy6 356]

My first meeting was about an hour and than it was 7months before I saw him again. I had a second meeting about 4 weeks before surgery that was another hour or so and than I saw him daily in the hospital.

[Karnie 66]

I saw my surgeon 4 times between my first visit at the information session and my surgery. This was from March 6 ( information session) to June 27 (surgery date). He did the info session so I was able to talk to him at length when it was over. There were two appointments where he allowed me to ask any and all questions I had and he also performed my pre op endoscopy. I was actually surprised (pleasantly) to see him so often. Gotta give a shout out to Dr. G at Abington Hospital in Philly!

[Cajunlady12 49]

I have met my surgeon only once. That was for the two hour class. I also met with nurse and NUT that same day. I have a pre-op appointment on Sept 10 and then surgery on Sept 24. I was given a manual which tells me what to do before surgery and also what I will be eating after surgery. Good Luck with your surgery.

[nyorker 67]

I met my surgeon when i woke up.. I asked him you speak english he nodded and flew back to vulcan.

Quit smoking 3 weeks before cold turkey. It was easy and i dont have the cravings for food or smoking now . 10 days post op.

[atlchick 42]

that was about 8 months ago. I am getting sleeved on sept 23rd. I have a pre op appt on sept 9th.

I have no idea what kind of diet I am supposed to do, questions about being a smoker, weight I need to lose... nothing..

is this normal????

I would say the sooner you quit smoking the better. I saw this today on one of the local surgeons website in the frequently asked questions section: Does smoking tobacco increase my risk for anesthesia?

YES, YES, YES!!!!!

[Jerzygurl 372]

that was about 8 months ago. I am getting sleeved on sept 23rd. I have a pre op appt on sept 9th.

I have no idea what kind of diet I am supposed to do, questions about being a smoker, weight I need to lose... nothing..

is this normal????

Hmmm..really? My initial consult was about an hour. He also won't operate on a smoker, said you must be 6 months smoke-free because it can cause complications during surgery. I'm not sure if there is a pre-op diet, haven't gotten that far yet, but I'll find out soon, if it is so.

[Jerzygurl 372]

that was about 8 months ago. I am getting sleeved on sept 23rd. I have a pre op appt on sept 9th.

I have no idea what kind of diet I am supposed to do, questions about being a smoker, weight I need to lose... nothing..

is this normal????

Oh and the office did give me a Sleeve pamplet about 12 pages thick. I think the pre-op diet probably is addressed in it....I kinda like tossed it on the back seat of my car. Had to concentrate on making all my appts, so I haven't really read the whole thing.